Bolton and Oldham – which both called on the government for extra support last December – are spending the most, with budgets of £8m and £7.7m. Salford follows with £7.6m.

Bury council attempted to take an extra £2m from its reserves to spend on potholes in light of the bad weather but the bid was refused. The news follows claims from Asphalt Industry Alliance that Britain is in a ‘pothole repair crisis’.

“This is investment that is clearly needed and while the money does not by any means tackle all the work we would like to do, it does help us to tackle some of the backlog we have.

“We’ve chosen roads and footpaths based on engineering surveys, and this extra funding will help to target the worst of the deterioration on some of our busy local roads. This extra funding follows on from the £6m that we have invested in our road network in the last three years.”

The Local Government Association said years of severe weather, under-funding and cuts to budgets have hit Greater Manchester’s roads hard.

Last year the M.E.N. revealed councils paid out £8m in compensation to people who had been affected by poor roads.

Ian Whittell, of cycling group Manchester Wheelers’ Club, said the amount being spent was necessary.

He said: “It sounds like a lot and clearly we need it. There have been some repairs in south Manchester this year but it has been a very bad winter and you can see the damage.

“This isn’t about comfort, it is about safety – so you have to applaud any effort made to pull these funds together. As more and more people become interested in cycling, it is very important we take this seriously.

“If you hit a pothole, particularly some of the bigger ones, at the wrong time and the wrong place, it can lead to fatal accidents and does so every year. So I applaud any investment made in sorting out our roads.”

I’ve had some very close calls

Kenzie Burchell (Image: Joel Goodman)

University researcher Kenzie Burchell says roads in south Manchester have become a real concern.

Kenzie, 33, uses a mountain bike to get to Manchester University every day from Chorlton.

He said: “I have had some very close calls. All of the potholes seem to be on the sides of the roads where the bikes are, so it is bad for cars but really dangerous for cyclists.

“You have a choice: Am I going to hit the side of the road or the pothole or the car?”

He added: “They are actually painful. Whether it is your arms, your back or sitting on the seat, when you hit the pothole it is just painful. If they are large enough and they catch you off guard it is dangerous. If your wheel hits one you could fall or hit a car.

“Driving in the traffic is already not the safest thing to be in, but this makes staying on your bike really difficult. I cycle 20 to 30 minutes a day to work – a lot of long roads and a lot of potholes.”

My boyfriend could have died

Viv Slack (Image: Paul Heyes)

Viv Slack says she has fallen from her bike due to potholes – and her boyfriend was left in intensive care after hitting one.

Viv, 36, from Prestwich, says councils need to do more to repair roads after the horror accident involving Jerry Cross, 45, in Agecroft Road, Swinton.

Viv, a technical analyst, said: “There are really big ones in north Manchester. When my boyfriend went into intensive care he had been coming down the hill in the rain. He hit the pothole, his hands slipped forward, and he went into a lamp post. We reported it and the council covered that one up, but it did take them a really long time. I have fallen and people I know have too. I feel scared when I’m on a busy road like Bury Old Road coming into town.”

She added: “I don’t think there is really an incentive to report them. If you believed the council were going to do something about it quickly then maybe you would report more.”

We've been monitoring where potholes have appeared recently across Greater Manchester. Take a look at the map below to see the spread of them: